It’s absurd to think Dwight Gooden won’t be pitching with a fire in his belly tonight against the Devil Rays, but he won’t admit to any such passion.

Doc allows only that it’s “always fun” to pitch against one’s home town team, but he says the fact Tampa gave up on him earlier this year is irrelevant.

“It’s no real special thing,” Gooden said following the Yanks’ 5-3 loss to the Tigers yesterday afternoon.

Even when Gooden was reminded the Tampa Bay general manager, Chuck LaMar, had suggested he retire upon letting him go, the 35-year-old right hander wouldn’t bite.

“The Devil Rays thought I was done,” Gooden acknowledged amiably, “they gave me eight starts and had seen enough. That was their opinion. But even when they released me, I still knew I could pitch. I knew I had been out of synch with them the whole time, and inconsistent. My mechanics were just off.”

Gooden said coming to the Yanks, “where people knew about me and the way I pitch,” helped straighten him out. Doc had also been dismissed by the Astros out of spring training.

But the Yankee organization’s pitching guru, Billy Connors, worked some magic by tweaking Gooden’s curve and changeup to complement his still-serviceable fastball. He now receives the kudos for Doc’s so-far stellar return.

“I got my control back,” Gooden explains.

While Joe Torre won’t proclaim Gooden officially back on track – “it’s only been two outings,” the Bomber manager cautions – he has certainly seen some positive signs.

“What hurt Doc was bad counts,” Torre explained of Gooden’s early-season woes with the other clubs. “When you’re behind in the count, guys can sit on your pitches.”